Grave trouble in 'paradise'

(Part II - Is it really fun in Boracay?)

Boracay is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is considered as one of the finest beaches in the world. At the height of the tourist season, as much as 80,000 people live in the island, compared to the original 8,000 in 1986. Exceeding the limits of the “carrying capacity” of the island is the major cause of trouble in this so-called “paradise.” Marine Scientist Dr. Miguel Fortes recalled that when tourists began to discover Boracay in 1986 during the governance of President Corazon Aquino, then Department of Tourism official Nars Lim put together a team (which included Dr. Fortes) to draw up the Boracay Master Plan. If it had been followed, the various problems worsening in the island would have been easily prevented.

Small island management

Boracay Island, located in the Western Visayas region, comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (three of the 17 barangays, which make up the municipality of Malay). It is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordination with the Provincial Government of Aklan.

The best part of the island is the four-kilometer stretch known as “White Beach” with very fine powdery sand and pristine clear blue waters. It is divided into three stations: Stations 1, 2, and 3. Along the beachfront are resorts, hotels, restaurants, bars, dive shops, D’Mall, D’Talipapa (marketplace), Willy’s Rock (a natural rock formation), tourism information centers, etc.

For three days in February 1999, I and the Natcom secretariat, together with 12 members of the UNESCO National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS), did a workshop with the community of Boracay, led by the late Dr. Rolu Encarnacion of PAGASA DOST and Marine Scientist Dr. Miguel Fortes. The focus of the workshop was on the knowledge and expertise essential in mitigating the negative impacts of Global Climate Change (GCC) and tourism. They also mobilized the community to adapt to these changes, especially in relation to their livelihood base, which is tourism.

Since 1994, the activities within the Outreach Marine Programme of the NCMS has been held in 15 different coastal towns in the archipelago — from Basco, Batanes in the north to Surigao City, Surigao del Norte and Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur in the south. It involved multi-sectoral participants, especially those operating businesses that contribute to the tourism industry, fishermen, fishing industry operators, hotel and/or restaurant owners, among others.

With transportation cost escalating, service providers from Aklan, Romblon and Marinduque could no longer commute, so the population has increased to 40,000, doubling at peak season with local and foreign tourists. Thus, water is now “imported” from Aklan, waste disposal problem is very serious, and hotels, including 300 to 500-room establishments, have squeezed the limited space.

The Boracay experience

Boracay experience starts with flying on small planes of Sea Air, Zest Air, Cebu Pacific or Philippine Airlines, whose frequent delays can be exasperating. Manila flights or bus trips from Kalibo end at Caticlan port. Ferryboats vary from sleek motorboats with uniformed skippers and stewardess to plain motorized bancas. This is a ten-minute crossing to the southern tip of Boracay at the Cagban jetty port. The landing is filled with jeeps, tricycles, and hotel coasters that could take the tourists to any of approximately 45 hotels ranging from “no-star” to five-star standards. Most of them are built along White Beach, where their premises extend to beachfronts filled with very fine powdery white sand — unlittered.

It is very safe for children to play on this wide 10-meter expanse of smooth sand, while parents take a leisurely sun tan on lounging chairs. Another 10-meter of shallow blue water descends to five meters of waist-high water. Meantime, half of the White Beach four-kilometer long walk gets filled-up almost 24 hours with all kinds of tourists and peddlers going in and out of souvenir shops, seafood eateries, occasional tattoo and spa establishments. The other half between stations 2 and 3 are very lively in the evening when the tide is low. A more select group of tourists sit down to enjoy a candlelit dinner of grilled or barbecued seafood, while listening to music bands organized by the hotels.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can play important roles in putting together coastal stakeholders whether they are LGU governors, congressmen and mayors, the business operators, the community or schools. They can, as “watchdogs,” call the attention of government to issues and stimulate public awareness programs concerning coastal degradation and destruction. Jun Aguirre of Panay News has helped in the media advocacy. A prominent NGO is the Boracay Foundation with active members: Elena T. Bruger, Jude Lee, Jose Carlos Remedios, Virgie Sarabia, and Jose Macavinta.

Troubled ocean waters

Before the NCMS team arrived, Dr. Fortes with Vanessa Garon and his two students surveyed the ocean situation. Old dynamite fishing has destroyed the reefs around the whole island. Now, fish and seafood are brought in daily from Capiz and Aklan.

With the absence of these reefs, the whiplash of waves during typhoon season has been changing the shape of the island. The 25-meter rule between the waters and the hotels can no longer be observed because coastal flooding is more frequent, causing the shoreline to advance towards the establishments.

Francisco “Jun” Torres Jr., aqua-culturist of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, warned of the importance of an ocean watch team. The discoloration of the water could spill the harmful “red tide,” especially with the rise in temperature. He warns of excessive sewage disposal from numerous establishments endangering water purity. Fortunately, the water current of Tablas Strait of Romblon helps wash away the Boracay sewage, lessening the danger.

Cyrus, Tapispisan skipper of the glass-bottom boat, lamented that the coral reefs have no chance of revival since hundreds of ferryboats, which ply constantly between Caticlan and the Boracay ports, drop their heavy anchor on them. It gets worse with the larger “roro” boats and fishing boats, which do not follow the parking areas designated by the municipality. Ed Sancho, a former banker, told him that this should have been reported to the local police. Cyrus complained that he has done so but nothing has happened.

Dr. Fortes cited an earlier study done by a Canadian researcher on how many boats can sustain the island of Boracay and the need to strictly implement sea-lane boundaries away from the reefs. This should be updated. In his presentation, his ideal picture of a coastal community showed the need to apply “soft engineering” with replanting mangroves or sea grass to encourage new corals to grow. “Hard engineering” requires stone rip rapping of the shores.

Wise coastal practices for beach management

Analysis drawn from the national workshops of “Wise Coastal Practices for Beach Management” held in the eastern Caribbean islands, showed that major conflicts were between: developers and beach-user group, coastal landowners and the public over the right of access to the beach, sand mining operators and beach users, coastal property owners protecting their land from inundation by the sea and other beach users, and persons dumping solid and other waste at the beach or inland and beach users.

The coast plays an important role in island life and almost every economic sector has a strong stake on it. Due to the dependency on the coast, it is impossible to allocate its use to a single economic sector for development or to give one sector priority over another. There are always conflicts and struggles among private and quasi-private property-based operations on the shore, and public (common) property-based activities on the beach and in the coastal waters. There are also conflicts between regulatory agencies and developers wanting to do as they wish in coastal areas, and between regulatory agencies and elected members of government, who may wish to ignore various regulations and policies in the name of development and short-term economic gain. Therefore, it is essential that there be a coastal management process in place which has a mechanism to cope with conflict resolution.